Members of the Pelosi family were given the opportunity to listen to the 911 call and view body camera footage from the Oct. 28 attack on Paul Pelosi, according to the San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who also signaled that the materials won’t be shared with the public any time soon.
The meeting with the Pelosi family regarding the evidence was scheduled for Wednesday, Jenkins said, emphasizing that the attack on Pelosi had been “politically motivated.”
ALLEGED PELOSI ATTACKER DAVID DEPAPE PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN COURT APPEARANCE
“That meeting is happening today, so limited members are able to view that footage so that they can have certain questions in their mind answered. But it’s a very limited number of family members, and that should be going on as we speak,” Jenkins told CNN.
Without specifying which specific members were given access to the evidence Wednesday or any other details of what they might have seen, Jenkins defended law enforcement’s decision not to immediately release that material to the public. She said no to host Wolf Blitzer’s question about whether there is a “public interest” in releasing these materials, stressing that her focus is protecting the investigation and the success of the prosecution.
“For us, revealing that evidence through the media is just not what we think is appropriate. We want to make sure that this individual is held accountable for these egregious acts. For us, we’re going to make sure that we limit the evidence as much as possible in order to get that done,” she added.
The alleged assailant David DePape, 42, pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges Jenkins’s office lodged against him Tuesday, including attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder, and threats to a public official. He could face between 13 years to life in prison on the charges, per Jenkins.
Last Friday, DePape allegedly broke into the Pelosi home and asked, “Where is Nancy?” seeking the whereabouts of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). DePape allegedly told authorities he wanted to break “her kneecaps” if the speaker did not tell him the “truth.” At one point, Paul Pelosi managed to slip away and made a call to police.
Responding officers later witnessed DePape striking Paul Pelosi with a hammer, per authorities. Paul Pelosi, who is 82, was sent to a hospital to receive treatment for a “skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” a spokesperson for his wife said.
“Paul is making steady progress on what will be a long recovery process,” Nancy Pelosi said Monday. The speaker was not in San Francisco at the time of the attack, but her office announced she was returning shortly afterward.
DePape’s criminal history provided law enforcement with nothing to suggest “that would have led anybody to believe that he was capable of what he ultimately did,” Jenkins said, without providing specifics on his past.
However, the suspect’s online activities have come under scrutiny. He shared conspiracy theories and extremist viewers on social media about topics ranging from the Capitol riot to the COVID-19 vaccines, according to multiple reports.
“This was politically motivated,” Jenkins said. “He planned to do violence against [the speaker], as well as others who are in political leadership in this state and in this country.”
DePape is being held without bond and is due back in court Friday for a bail hearing.
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In addition to the charges from Jenkins, DePape is facing one count of assault of an immediate family member of a U.S. official and one count of attempted kidnapping of a U.S. official from federal prosecutors.
U.S. Capitol Police officers were reportedly not monitoring the cameras around the Pelosi home in San Francisco when the break-in happened early Friday. The Capitol Police said on Wednesday that it has begun an internal security review and “will fast-track the work we have already been doing to enhance the protection of Members outside of Washington, D.C., while also providing new protective options that will address concerns following Friday’s targeted attack.”
